"I put my name forward to step in at UFC 222 to face Frankie Edgar when Max Holloway pulled out, but I was told there wasn't enough time to generate the money that the UFC would need," McGregor said in an Instagram post.

"I was excited about bouncing in last minute and taking out the final featherweight, without all the rest of the stuff that comes with this game.

CONOR MCGREGOR / TWITTER

Conor McGregor's tweet mocking Frankie Edgar

"Please respect the insane amount of work outside the fight game that I have put in."

McGregor, 29, hasn’t set foot inside the Octagon since his historic UFC 205 victory over Eddie Alvarez, a triumph which saw him become the promotion’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion.

His first fight back in the promotion is expected to see him take on the winner of Tony Ferguson vs Khabib Nurmagomedov, which headlines UFC 223 on April 7.

ALI ABDELAZIZ / TWITTER

Ali Abelaziz's tweet to Conor McGregor

UFC president Dana White is keen on seeing McGregor take on the winner of the bout, recently saying: “I’d like to see Conor fight the winner.

“It was August and then September [for his return].

“I say it all the time, with that kind of money, Conor might never come back. It’s a lot of money.”